Left Behind
by Commander Ray
Summary: Why did it hurt so much? Like he'd told the pilot, people don't risk their lives for strangers. So why did it hurt so much?
1. Ezra

Ezra ran behind Kanan and Sabine as they fled the Imperial ship. The teen still wasn't sure how Hera had talked him into going aboard the transport, but he was here and they needed to get off of it NOW. The Lasat- Zeb, Ezra had heard he was called- ran past the youth and shoved him back. Ezra glared at the alien and was about to follow when he was roughly grabbed from behind. Ezra yelped as he was yanked against an armored chest. Zeb turned around and drew his weapon, his face contorted in a snarl.

"Let go." Ezra demanded as the Imperial wrapped an arm around his neck. Two stormtroopers raced up and opened fire on Zeb, forcing the Lasat to take cover in the doorway.

"Kid, get outta the way!"

"I'm trying!" Ezra snapped as he wrestled to get free, but the Imperial's hold on the teen was too strong. The stormtroopers continued firing at the Lasat, and Ezra thought he saw what looked like regret flash across the alien's face, but it was gone before he could tell.

"Sorry, Kid."

_'No...' _Ezra stared at the Lasat, silently pleading. _'Don't...'_

"You did good." With those words, the door to the _Ghost'_s airlock slid shut.

Ezra stopped struggling and stared at the closed airlock door, a single thought passing through his mind:

_'Don't go...'_

The stormtroopers lowered their blasters, and Ezra could feel the Imperial restraining him smirk in triumph. Unable to do anything, Ezra continued staring at the door, his eyes burning with tears he refused to let fall. Why was he so upset? It wasn't like he cared about any of them. He'd just met them today, and it wasn't like he expected them to help him, like he'd told the pilot, people don't do that.

Despite that, as he felt the shudders as the _Ghost _detached from the transport, the teen felt a stab of pain in his chest at being left behind.

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**A/N: Okay, umm... not really sure where this came from. When I saw the Rebels movie, this scene stood out to me. So, being me, I sat down and started writing this. I loved how we saw the desperation and fear on Ezra's face before it cut to commercial, to me it shows just how much he'd already come to care for the crew of the _Ghost_, even when he tried to deny it. Anyway, please review!**


	2. Zeb

Zeb watched the door to the airlock shut, a hollow pit growing in his stomach. As soon as the door had closed, Hera disengaged the airlock with a triumphant "We're outta here!" Despite the pilot's relief, Zeb groaned and sat down with is back to the door as a single feeling burned in his chest:

Failure

The kid had looked at him, blue eyes _begging_ the Lasat to help him, instead, he'd walked away. Sheathing his AB-75 bo-rifle, Zeb cradled his head in his massive hands as guilt washed over him full force. The teen had no doubt gone against every instinct he had to warn them, even though he didn't know them. Hera would NOT be happy about this. She'd probably been the one to talk the kid into warning them in the first place, otherwise the youth no doubt would've high tailed on outta there at the first sign of trouble.

As the _Ghost _raced away from the Star Destroyer, Zeb lifted his head and climbed to his feet. _'The kid'll be fine_.' he thought, attempting to reassure himself '_The_ _Empire'll go easy on him_.' Even as he thought this, however, a small voice nagged at him from the back of his mind; _'Then why are you so upset?_' As Sabine demanded to know how her most recent explosion had looked over the comm, Zeb headed to the cockpit.

Why _was _he so upset? It wasn't like he'd had a choice. There'd been no way for him to save the upstart, not with the stormtroopers shooting at him, and no way to attack them with that ISB agent holding Ezra in the line of fire. It wouldn't have been possible, so _why_ was it bothering him so much? The kid was an annoying little thief, and he had no ties to the crew in any way.

Despite all the reasons why he shouldn't, Zeb felt guilt burn in his chest as they left the kid behind.

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**A/N: Surprise! My gift to you :) I was planning on leaving this at just Ezra's thoughts, but this burned in the back of my mind, demanding to be written. So here you go, a peek at Zeb's side of things. Thank you all SO much for all the positive feedback I've gotten, I wasn't sure how this would be received, it's not exactly up to my usual emotional standards. I don't own the characters or the story. Reviews are love!**


	3. Sabine

**A/N: I was definitely NOT planning on writing any more for this story, but all the positive feedback and requests for more I've received have talked me into it. Seriously, 42 favorites and 33 follows? Jeez, somebody might think my writing is actually good when they see that. So here you go everyone, you twisted my arm :) The new plan is to do Sabine's POV, then Kanan's, and Hera's for the closer. Sorry, but Chopper doesn't get a chapter. Why? because I'm not sure I could do his character justice, and on top of it, I don't know how to write the thoughts of a droid. **

**Anyway, thank you all SO much for all the support, it means the world to me. Please continue telling me what you think, I love hearing from all of** **you.**

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Sabine stared at the floor, thinking the current arguement over in her mind. The kid had been left behind, and Hera was insisting they should go back and rescue him.

"It's our fault he was there!" the twi'lek argued vehemently.

"Come on, Hera!" Zeb snapped "We just met this kid, we're not goin' back for 'im!"

_Says the one who left him behind, _a voice nagged at Sabine. The Mando teen squashed the thought. There was no way they could save the teen, not if he was in the Empire's evil clutches.

"They'll be waiting for us." Sabine said sadly, shaking her head "We can't save him."

Hera looked at her, as if she couldn't believe the artist actually thought there was no hope for their unexpected passenger. A grim silence hung over the rebels as they drank in Sabine's words. A silence that was promptly broken by Chopper as he turned to Hera and rumbled.

"What?" Zeb demanded as the twi'lek's face brightened "What did he say?"

"He voted with me." Hera replied with a smile "That's two against two. Kanan, you have the deciding vote."

Everyone turned to the former Jedi, anxious to hear his decision. Kanan's brow scrunched as he thought about the problem. Despite every instinct telling her they couldn't possibly accomplish what Hera and Chopper wanted, Sabine desperately hoped Kanan would decide to save the teen. Sure, he was a thief who had tried to make off with their objective, but he'd been stealing to survive. To top it off, the kid probably had a family back on Lothal that would worry themselves sick if he disappeared. She remembered his awestruck expression when he stared out at the stars, blue eyes wide and innocent as he saw space for the first time. She remembered wanting him to see more of it, wanting the kid to have a chance to see other world's and explore the galaxy. A chance he would never have if left to the Empire.

So, as she watched their leader struggle with the decision that had a boy's life hanging in the balance, Sabine prayed Kanan would choose to not leave him behind.


	4. Kanan

Kanan sat in the co-pilot's chair, his face drawn as he mulled the current issue over. Their teenage tagalong had been captured by Imperials, and Hera wanted them to go back and save the kid. On top of it, the rest of the Ghost's crew were all staring at him, awaiting his answer.

_'No pressure of anything.' _he thought to himself before redirecting his thoughts to the decision at hand.

Frankly, Kanan didn't know what to think.

Hera liked him, and that was usually enough to get someone on Kanan's good side, but this time was different.

The kid aggravated the former Jedi to no end, and he didn't know why. The little thief had not only tried to steal their target, but had even gone snooping around Kanan's room and found his lightsaber. Sure, it was a test, but still. Everything about this teen screamed troublemaker to Kanan, and talking to the kid made him feel like a father scolding his son.

_'What?' _he started, his train of thought coming to a screeching halt _'Where did THAT come from?' _

One theory was quick to present itself, but Kanan discarded it. Hera had been the one to suggest testing the kid, Kanan had agreed just to please her. Everything he did was to please her, she was his oldest and closest friend. He didn't actually think he could take the kid as his padawan and teach him to be a Jedi. Didn't he?

His head told him there was no way they could or really even _should _rescue their young... friend? Another part of him, something deeper and more powerful than his gut, told him they should. The Force tugged at his mind, urging him to turn back. Kanan fought against the feeling, attempting to rationalize away the sensation. Too many Imperials, no real plan or time to prepare.

_That's never stopped you before,_ a voice nagged at him. Again, Kanan argued.

_'The kid'll be fine.' _he snapped at himself _'He proved he could take care of himself.'_

_It doesn't mean he should _

Still feeling everyone's eyes on him, Kanan reached out with the Force, wanting to get an idea of what the others were thinking. Apprehension and guilt from Hera, the lovely twi'lek most likely blaming herself for sending the kid aboard the Imp ship in the first place. A heady mixture of guilt and self-loathing from Zeb, the Lasat was probably calling himself a coward for ditching the teen in question. From Sabine, dread and hope battled for supremacy. It looked like the Mando teen wanted to go back for Ezra, even though the trained warrior side of her had convinced her a rescue was impossible. Turned out they all wanted the same thing, despite saying otherwise: they _all _wanted to go back. So, Kanan decided to give them what they wanted.

"We're going back."

With those three words, the dam broke. A flood of _relief_ washed over him, making him glad he was sitting down, otherwise he surely would have been knocked off his feet from the sheer intensity of it. With a smile in his direction, Hera set to work reconfiguring the _Ghost'_s heading, taking them back to the Star Destroyer. No one said anything, but then again, words weren't needed. It was like a weight had been lifted from all of them, making them feel free and light.

Turning to gaze out at the swirling blues of hyperspace, Kanan remembered a lesson that had been all but forgotten since the end of the Jedi. A lesson taught by the clone troopers, ironically. He had learned it while watching them fight and live together, going to any imaginable length to keep each other alive:

_No one gets left behind _

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**A/N: First off, I am SORRY. I know this is a REALLY terrible chapter. This was a hard one for me to write, Kanan is a tricky character for me to do properly, and I know I messed up a lot. This is one of my worst pieces, but frankly I had no idea what to do with this, so I just decided to wing it. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! **

**Anyway, Merry Christmas and don't forget to review. Don't hold back, go ahead and tell me if it sucked to the point where I should redo it, but no flames, I still won't tolerate them.**


	5. Hera

As the rebel ship the _Ghost _rocketed into hyperspace, Hera slumped back in her seat with a sigh of relief. They had done it, they'd saved Ezra. The soft whoosh of the door opening reached the twi'lek's ears and she sat up. She knew it was their recently rescued companion, and decided he could use a friendly chat.

"Welcome aboard," she said "...again."

"Thanks." the teen mumbled. He seemed unhappy with that response, however, and tried again.

"Thank you, I really didn't think you'd come back for me."

_'We almost didn't.' _the pilot thought, masking a grimace as a smile.

"We'll get you home now." she told him "I'm sure your parents must be worried sick."

"... I don't have parents." the young human said sadly. Hera turned to the teen, false smile gone. He didn't have anyone? No one to take care of him, or keep him out of trouble? It pained the woman to think that someone as young as Ezra surviving on his own. _'One more reason the Empire needs to be taken down.' _

"...and you've got somewhere else to be." the teen continued as Kanan and Sabine walked into the cockpit, the door sliding closed behind them "I know where they're really taking the wookies."

Despite masking it behind indifference, she was rather in awe of the teen. Could his capture have provided intel?

_'There's no way..."_

"Have you ever heard of the spice mines of Kessel?"

Hera instantly tensed, her brow furrowed. She turned to meet Kanan's eyes, expression serious. As Sabine explained to their young...friend... what Kessel was like, Hera took a moment to process what the teen had accomplished. He'd managed to not only escape an Imperial prison cell on his own, but managed to gain information about a slave transfer, _on his own_!

As she entered the coordinates to take them to the desolate mining world, Hera paused to marvel at the ability of their young companion. He escaped Imperial custody and gathered valuable info, and was now practically volunteering to help with liberating slaves he didn't know. His selflessness was surprising, especially considering what he had to have endured living alone.

While the rest of the crew prepared for the upcoming fight, the twi'lek felt a sense of pride well up inside. Ezra had proved them right for going back for him, and he was now risking himself to help others. Knowing that there was no family to miss the young teen, Hera was glad that they had decided to not leave him behind.

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**A/N: Blargh, I can't seem to shake this bad writing mojo. Sorry about the quality of this chapter, a lot of personal chiz has got my mind somewhere else. I would also like to apologize for how long it took for this update to happen, again a lot of personal chiz and a disturbing lack of WiFi recently. This is the official last chapter to this story, thank you all SO much for all the support you guys have given me. It's been my genuine pleasure to write this for you guys and read what you guys have to say.**


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